Caleb rubbed his chin as he leaned against the doorframe, studying Claudia's pretty face for a moment, "I have my wife here," he breathed, "You have to go," he said, knowing that his eyes showed how much more apologetic he was, than what he wanted them to as he fiddled with the bandage on his chest.

Claudia slid into her dress, her blue eyes were dark as she looked up at him again, "If you want me, you know where I am." she said, swallowing hard and trying to pretend this didn't hurt as much as it did.

Micah smiled to himself, "It was supposed to be a surprise, remember?"

Lynn slipped into Gregori Taras’ hotel room; the pitter patter of rain outside masked the click of the door as she pressed herself against the walls, far from the flashes of blue lightning sparking the place; the scent of snow and blood mixed in her nose, reminding her of nights beside a fire with her ex-husband. She shut her eyes, feeling a mix of longing and hatred twist in her tummy; she opened her eyes again and took a step towards the living room, knowing she’d have to get past it to the master bedroom. “They said you’d gone soft…retired even.” Gregori hissed from the dark, “But if I didn’t know you were coming, I think you would have actually made it to me.” Lynn froze and lifted her violet-silver gaze up to meet the dark emerald stare of her ex-husband, he was just as she remembered him, handsome as ever in nothing but sweats, he was still all muscle, his strong jaw clenched, his cupid’s bow mouth curved into a small smile, his light brown hair closed shaved; seeing him after almost thirty years caused a knee-buckling jerk of lust to tear through her abdomen, she gritted her teeth because she hated he could still do that to her, “How did you know?” she said, running her fingers through her black curls, tilting her chin up in an almost defiant manner. Gregori chuckled darkly, “Because I know you, I know the way you move, the way you think…the way you feel.” He breathed, his gaze moving over her before he lifted it back to her pretty eyes, “I used to be the air inside your lungs, remember?” he smiled before he launched into a blur of movements; Lynn sidestepped as his fist broke the plaster of the wall behind her where her head had been moments ago. She growled and moved to drive her knee up into his chest but he turned out of the way and twisted to elbow her in the throat and they both went down in a tangled mess of limbs. Gregori growled as he pinned her down, driving his forearm against her throat, he saw the rage in her darkening eyes as she struggled, landing a few blows against his back; he pressed his wait against her, missing the way their long bodies used to fit. Lynn barred her teeth, she could feel him crushing her, so many memories swirled in her head, made her ache between her legs as he pressed against her and she wanted to kill him for it. Gregori pressed his forearm harder into her throat, wanting to keep her pinned as he bent his head and kissed her.

Caleb nodded slowly as he continued to watch her, "Thank you," he mumbled.

"Right," Anna breathed, biting her lip as she studied his backside, "My mistake."

Claudia gave him one last sorrowful look before disappearing.

Micah bit his lip, "Like staring at my ass?"

Caleb sighed, for a moment having to stifle the need to slam his fist into the door before he moved into his room, "Eliya?" he called, opening the window to let the icy air in and out of respect for his woman, he grabbed the sheets, threw them out into the snow and found a large fur-blanket for them.

Anna smiled to herself, "Uh-huh," she muttered, cocking her head a little, "I just wanna be able to enjoy it before I get fat and it gets creepy."

Eliya moved to her feet and headed upstairs, glancing around at everything until she reached her husband's room, she bit her lip and didnt say anything quite yet.

Micah chuckled, "I feel like your molesting me with your stare."

Caleb glanced back at her and smiled a little, "Hey," he mumbled, gesturing around the room, "I know it's pretty small, but it's a room, you know?"

Anna felt a grin curve her lips, "I'm practically eating you with my eyes," she muttered, lifting her gaze to his face instead.

Caleb felt a grin curve his lips before he bent his head to kiss her forehead, "Liar," he breathed, slowly moving backwards to sit on the bed with her.

Anna wrinkled her nose, "Caden's wife," she muttered, "Everyone was heartbroken and Kiran felt so guilty about what happened to you," she mumbled, dropping her gaze to the table as she felt an almost saddened smile curve her lips, "I actually remember that I was thinking about you, about right before you left the building, I kissed you and said I was always there if you wanted to talk." she frowned slightly, "And then that bitch broke me off and made Caden nearly break my damn arm."

Caleb shut his eyes for a moment, warmth spreading through his abdomen and he felt himself harden a little beneath her, "Mmh, we should find someone to satisfy your carnal needs when I'm injured," he breathed.

Anna breathed another laugh, "You're not exactly Freddy Krueger, darling," she muttered, running her fingers over her curls before she glanced over her shoulder, wondering if she should go looking for Aryan.

Lynn felt everything ache and she hated that she loved it; her lip was busted, there was a bruise forming on her cheek and many other parts of her body, there was a satisfying throbbing in her breasts and between her legs; she slid out of her ex-husband’s bed, careful of the various broken objects all around the room as she grabbed her panties and started to slide them on. She glanced back at Gregori as she put on her ripped jeans, he was sitting up in bed watching her, and he was covered in matching bruises, riddled with cuts and bite marks, a cold smile lit his face, “Maybe you should come back or I might I have to kill your friends and family.” He said a hint of teasing in the steely threat.Lynn snickered, “I’ve heard it before.” She said and jerked to punch him hard in the nose, he fell back, blood dripping down his face into his teeth as he grinned and grabbed her wrist, jerking her back onto the bed, he got on top of her again. He smashed his mouth against hers and she could taste his blood on her tongue when he slammed his fist in her ribcage, she could feel the bones snap as white hot pain flicked up her body, his other hand moved to rip of her jeans and panties, spreading her legs so he could slam inside her at the same moment his fist re-collided with her ribs, loving the moan that became a scream of his name.

Lynn padded towards the door, determined not to limp as she glanced back at her ex-husband again, there was still blood on his face, it was still in his teeth when he grinned and held up her lacy panties, “I’m keeping these.” He breathed, licking his teeth. She rolled her eyes, unable to help the smile starting to quirk up the corners of her split lip as she gave him the bird and disappeared to find Caleb and Eliya.

Caleb opened his eyes to study her pretty face, smiling warmly now, "You do, baby," he breathed, reaching up to curl his fingers in her hair when he felt Lynn there.

Anna glanced back at Micah and smiled a little, not saying anything as she hopped off her chair and moved to kiss his cheek where the scar was, "Thank you," she breathed before she turned on her heel to walk outside.

Eliya glanced up at Lynn, she crashed against the wall, looking in a hell of a lot of pain, "What the hell happened to you?" she mumbled, a little annoyed she couldn't have shown up later.

Aryan stared out into the night, the snow not bothering, the same lost in thought look on his face as before.

Caleb glanced over at Lynn, frowning deeply as he gave her a once-over, "Were you attacked by wolves or something?"

Anna frowned slightly as she went outside and shut the door behind her, the cold air making her shudder as she hugged herself, digging her fingernails into her sides, "Kiran?" she mumbled, slowly moving towards him, but she didn't wait for a response, "Are you angry with me about this?" she muttered.

Lynn made a face, leaning against the wall for a minute, "No, date got a little out of hand." she mumbled, wondering why the lie came so smoothly.

Aryan glanced up at her, "No." he said softly, not elaborating.

Caleb raised a brow at her, deciding not to ask anymore questions if she was going to lie anyways.

Anna smiled a little, "So," she breathed, moving to sit next to him, "What do you say? Are we having another baby?"

Lynn pushed off the wall and limped towards them, she turned to her side and gestured to her ribs, "Can you jus reach over and pop those back into place?" she mumbled.

Aryan smiled slightly, "I hope so."

Caleb's frowned deepened a little as he sat up, gritting his teeth, "Come here," he mumbled, gesturing for her to sit next to them.

Anna chewed the inside of her cheek as she studied him, "Do you want to?" she mumbled, an almost nervous line creasing her brow.

Lynn moved to sit closer to them, she lifted her shirt to show them her bruised ribs, bruised torso, bitemarks just barely seen on the underside of her breast; Eliya sniffed ad wrinkled her nose, "You smell like guilty pleasure and shame."

Caleb glanced back at Eliya, but he didn't comment on any of it as he carefully placed his hand over the messed up ribs and used his palm to pop them back into place, not waiting for any gratefulness before he gently lifted Eliya, put her down next to him and got up to leave the room; needing a drink for this.

Lynn groaned as she dropped back onto the bed, "I'm sorry for interrupting but I needed to talk to you both." she mumbled, shutting her eyes.

Caleb didn't reply as he left the room, returning a few moments later with a little black box and a bottle of bourbon, "Talk," he muttered, not looking at her as he sat in his lounging chair by the crowded bookcase.

Lynn took a breath, "I need Chloe to stay with you for a few days." she said, sounding sad for a moment, "My ex-husband is trying to kill me."

Caleb raised another brow, still not looking at her as he opened the box and frowned a little, "Is he the one who messed you up like that?" he muttered, briefly glancing at her as he took out a syringe filled with white liquid.

Lynn bit her lip, "No, it wasn't William." she muttered, a technical half-truth.

Caleb pursed his lips as he tapped the syringe with his finger and got up to move towards her, "Here, it'll take the edge off the pain," he muttered, not waiting for her to agree before he jabbed the needle into her arm.

"Anti-bullshit," Caleb muttered, squatting in front of her to study her face as something cold started to creep into his pretty eyes, "Start talking, Lynn, cause I can do a lot more damage than that."

Lynn narrowed her eyes at him, "Did you actually shoot me up with truth serum?" she said, grounding her teeth together.

Caleb raised a brow at her as he held her gaze, "Yeah, I actually did," he muttered, "Who did this to you?"

Lynn considered breaking his nose before she slumped back, too sore, "My first ex-husband, Gregori Taras."

"Why?" Caleb muttered, straightening again as he moved back to his chair and sat down, grabbing a new syringe from the box with transparent liquid.

Lynn took a breath, "Simon sent him to prison after he betrayed us, after he almost killed me. He got out and almost killed Caden so I found him, went to his hotel to kill him, then he fucked my brains out." she muttered, shutting her eyes.

Caleb scoffed to himself, rolling up the sleeve of his black tee before he jabbed his clean needle into the vein, gritting his teeth, "I feel bad for you," he muttered, without feeling.

Caleb glanced up at her again as he rubbed his arm, "What's that supposed to mean, Lynnie?" he muttered, his eyes suddenly darkening to a whole other shade of emerald.

Lynn opened her eyes to look at him, "Why do you get to fuck whoever you want when your married but I don't when I'm alone?"

Caleb raised a brow at her, a cruel smile slowly starting to curve his pretty lips, "What makes you think I give a rat's ass about who you're fucking?" he muttered, glancing at Eliya before looking back at Lynn, hoping that she'd say something stupid.

Eliya looked up at him, "Caleb." she said softly, "Stop." she muttered, swallowing hard as she studied her husband's face.

Caleb looked back at his wife, his expression softening as he nodded slightly; not saying anything as he dropped the syringes into the trash.